Jorge Rafael Videla

Jorge Rafael Videla (2 August 1925-17 May 2013) was President of Argentina from 29 March 1976 to 29 March 1981, succeeding Isabel Peron and preceding Roberto Viola. An infamous dictator, Videla was responsible for numerous crimes against humanity during the Dirty War.

Biography
Jorge Rafael Videla was born on 2 August 1925 in Mercedes, Argentina to a family that had held political and military roles in Argentina for the past several decades. In 1944 he graduated from the National Military College and served at the Ministry of Defense from 1958 to 1960, directing the Military Academy until 1962. In 1971 he was promoted to Brigadier-General, and in 1975 President Isabel Peron appointed him as General Commander of the Army. However, on 24 March 1976 Videla overthrew Peron and set up a military junta; he represented the army, Emilio Massera represented the navy, and Orlando Ramon Agosti represented the air force. Videla declared himself the President of Argentina a few days later, heading the "National Reorganization Process" that sought to end the insurgency of various Marxist and Peronist rebels in the "Dirty War". From 1976 to 1977 he survived three assassination attempts by the communist rebels. Under Videla, various war crimes were committed, including the killing of 4,000 people by throwing them out of planes and into the Atlantic Ocean, while as many as 30,000 people "disappeared" under Videla. In 1981 he relinquished power to Roberto Viola, and in 1985 he was tried in the Trial of the Juntas two years after the restoration of democracy. He was discharged from the military and sentenced to life in prison, but in 1990 President Carlos Menem pardoned the accused, hoping to heal the wounds caused in the war. In 1998 Videla returned to prison for 38 days for kidnapping during the war, but he was later transferred to house arrest; in 2010 he was again sentenced to life in prison, and in 2012 he was sentenced to 50 years in prison. He died in his sleep in 2013 at the age of 87.